Ex-military dictator wins Guinea-Bissau elections

Remember the general elections in Ethiopia?

You could be excused for forgetting. The polls were held on 15 May and full results are still not yet announced.

War ravaged Guinea-Bissau, by contrast, held an election on Sunday and the results were announced today: only four days later.

It looks like Joao Bernardo (Nino) Vieira has been elected to Guinea-Bissau's presidency. Nino was the country's military from 1980 until he was ousted in a coup 19 years later (he won an alleged democratic eleciton in 1994).

The former strongman was credited with 55% of the vote by the independent electoral commission. His runoff opponent, Malam Bacai Sanha, won 44%. Ironically, Sanha, then parliamentary speaker, was installed as head of state by the military upon Vieria's overthrow. The two came from the PAIGC party that ruled Guinea-Bissau from independence in 1974 until 2000, though Vieria ran as an independent in this election.

Though the poll's conduct was generally praised by international observers, Sanha and parties that backed him in the runoff said they would refuse to accept the results. In fact, they said this before the results were even announced.

Not a good sign for a country in desperate need of stability and order.